20/20 OFF TO A FLYER. The most lucrative cricket tournament
in the history of the game opened in Antigua yesterday evening with glitz,
glamour and razzmatazz. The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) scored
the first victory of the much heralded Stanford 20/20 competition with
an easy 47-run victory over St Maarten. It was the first match of the
US$36 million project bankrolled by Texas billionaire Allen Stanford.
In this revolutionary version of the game in which the players traditionally
wear white clothing, the combatants wore brightly coloured uniforms, bowled
an orange ball, and batted with black bats. Above, Allen Stanford (left
foreground) and West Indies cricket legend Sir Viv Richards greeting each
other ahead of yesterday's opening match. In keeping with the festival
spirit of the contest Stanford sent down a few balls to Sir Viv. (Picture
by Colin Cumberbatch for Stanford 20/20.)

Windies cricket legends to meet with Texas
billionaire

Three former greats - Sir Everton Weekes, Gordon
Greenidge and Joel Garner - were
spotted at Grantley Adams International Airport preparing to go
to Antigua.

Greenidge confirmed he was attending the meeting,
but said he was unaware of the full details.

SEVERAL LEGENDS of West Indies cricket met in Antigua
in what is expected to be part of a major development in the game in the
region.

The DAILY NATION understands that the meeting was organised
by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford, who invited the former players to
aid with the structuring of a new project - Stanford
20/20 tournament.

The details of the project are expected to be unveiled
today at a massive news conference at the Sticky Wicket Restaurant, which
is home to the West Indies Cricket Hall of Fame.

Indications are that over US$1 million could be pumped
into the new project with the current players in the region as the central
focus.

Last month Stanford indicated his willingness to pump
money into West Indies cricket.

Seeing himself as a West Indian, Stanford said: "We
have a great product - our cricket - a rich history and legacy. In October
I am going to make an announcement about something that is going to take
place one year from now and I truly believe the announcement will be part
of the re-emergence of cricket as a world-class, professional sport throughout
the region."

Sir
Garry, the greatest player in the history of the game, also endorsed the
new project, saying: "This is magnificent; what more can I say? I
am very pleased to be part of it. Let's hope our cricket will make the
leap forward from here."

The board met with Stanford for the first time on Sunday
night and most said they were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the investment.

"These are the men I will be listening to
for advice and guidance," Stanford said yesterday at the
tournament launch. "They are the ones who brought glory to
the region and the world and they deserve to be part of any project to
revive the game."

Date March 07, 2006
by Tony Cozier In AUCKLAND Compliments of theNation
News

BENNETT
KING is elated over Allen Stanford's
US$28 million investment in West Indies cricket.

"Certainly, the Stanford proposals and some
of the things he's got in place actually aid our (team) development as
well as aid development around West Indies cricket in general because
of the resources they're putting into the (cricket) communities,"
the head coach said here yesterday.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) - Former West Indies' fast bowler Andy Roberts
has hailed the Stanford Twenty20 cricket project as a huge boost in assisting
the development of West Indies cricket.

While praising the Antigua-based Texas billionaire's initiative,
the Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1975 and former West Indies coach,
chastised the WICB for failing to put the necessary funds in the development
of West Indies cricket.

"Mr Stanford is doing it as a business, but in doing
so he is helping to develop West Indies cricket, he is putting what the
WICB has failed to do over the years, putting money into development of
West Indies cricket," Roberts said.

Stanford is launching a multi-million dollar Twenty20
cricket series next summer in Antigua with 19 teams participating, and
he is getting ready to disburse more than US$2 million in funds early
next year to assist participating countries in developing their training
programmes and preparing for the tournament.

Roberts, along with several other former West Indies players,
is on the Stanford 20/20 tournament board of directors, and while in Trinidad
briefing the national players and cricket officials, Roberts advised the
WICB to grab Stanford's US$28 million venture wholeheartedly.

"I know that any company who
is struggling, anyone who is putting money into that company to keep it
up, should be grateful," Roberts said.

On Monday evening, the WICB issued a release on behalf
of its territorial boards, triggering concern that members of the regional
governing body were unhappy with aspects of how Stanford was executing
his plans. The WICB territorial board's statement urged Stanford to take
the path of collective participation with the WICB on the project.

The statement spoke of fear of Stanford's investment creating
"duplication and division" within West Indies cricket, but Roberts
appeared to have different feedback from the territories.

He told the gathering of players and officials that while
the response from the territorial boards has been "sound", the
WICB has been relatively silent on the developments.

"Officially we haven't heard any word from the West
Indies Board, giving its blessings or that they are in full support of
it."

Roberts, who claimed 202 wickets Test wickets in 47 matches
at an average of 25.61 runs apiece, dispelled the growing concern in the
cricket fraternity that Stanford's board and the WICB were at loggerheads.

"We're not in conflict with WICB at all, contrary
to that, what we (Stanford directors) are trying to do is to help develop
West Indies cricket."

Roberts substituted for former West Indies opener Desmond
Haynes in Trinidad, to bring the players up to speed on the tournament.

He advised the national cricketers in attendance, including
West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, to "train hard" and prepare
for the US$1 million winner-take-all Twenty20 tournament in Antigua next
summer.